Chapter 2045 — The Lion's Tribute

"If I get out, you'll give up harassing Wang Xinyan? And you'll give up He Meiyue too?" Wei Zhao swept a glance over Fan Ganhe and Zhang Duopan, then asked.

"That... if you get out and we don't dare to, then we admit defeat!" Zhang Duopan was playing it sly, refusing to commit himself. What he meant was: if Wei Zhao got out and nothing happened, then naturally they would dare to get out too; but if Wei Zhao got out and the lion chased him back, then the earlier wager would be void, and Wei Zhao would have been scared back into the car by the lion—so where was the courage in that?

"Oh, Xiaoshu, then let's get out and take another look at this lion!" Wei Zhao said.

"Yes, yes!" Shen Yushu nodded. "This lion seems to be living pretty well for itself, still a king. I wonder if it has any fine treasures it wants to present to me?"

And so, as they spoke, the two of them got out of the vehicle, while Zhang Duopan and Fan Ganhe waited eagerly for the lion to fly into a rage again and bite Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu to death!

But the gap between wish and reality was vast: the moment Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu stepped out, the lion that had been so furious suddenly turned docile again, wearing an ingratiating smile, utterly harmless, as though it had not been the one raging moments before.

"Bite him! Bite them!" Zhang Duopan screamed inwardly, but the lion did not listen to him at all.

"Hey, lion, you're living pretty well for yourself here, aren't you? Do you have any fine treasures to present to me?" Shen Yushu asked.

"Whine, whine..." The lion knew that nothing good ever came of Shen Yushu's visits—here she was, starting to demand things from it! But the lion did not dare refuse. If it refused and angered Shen Yushu, that was no joking matter—especially with Wei Zhao beside her. If this girl told him to give it a beating, it might well be finished, never able to be lion king again!

At that thought, the lion scurried back to its old den behind its territory, carefully rummaged something out, took it in its mouth, and ran back, lifting its head as if presenting a treasure...

Shen Yushu reached out her hand, and the lion spat out what was in its mouth: a large, round bead, milky white throughout, somewhat like a pearl but not a pearl, like a gemstone but not quite that either—altogether a very peculiar thing. Shen Yushu held it and examined it for a while without understanding what it was.

"What is this? You mangy lion, you're not trying to fob some junk off on me, are you?" Shen Yushu had not expected the lion to actually produce some treasure, but whether this thing was a treasure, and what use it had, she could not tell.

"Whine, whine..." Hearing Shen Yushu say this, the lion put on a mournful, aggrieved face. It could not speak human tongue—otherwise it would certainly have explained: this was a fine treasure that the previous tiger king had found in the primeval forest and presented to me when I became king. It really is a good thing!

"Let me see it!" Wei Zhao frowned, took the round white bead from Shen Yushu's hand, and examined it closely.

This thing had to be a treasure—there was no doubt about it. Not because Wei Zhao trusted the lion, but because the instant the white bead appeared, Wei Zhao had sensed the powerful energy contained within it. But what exactly that energy was, and what it was for, Wei Zhao did not yet know.

"Arrowbrand, can you tell what this is?" Shen Yushu asked curiously.

"Not for now, but let's take it anyway!" Wei Zhao tucked the bead into his clothes.

Zhang Duopan and Fan Ganhe, still in the vehicle, saw the lion give Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu a bead, but by their judgment it was no pearl or jewel—it looked more like a useless stone—so they did not pay it much mind. What concerned them was: why did the lion seem to have turned docile again?

Could this lion be deranged, with a split personality, fine one moment and vicious the next?

"Zhang Duopan, Fan Ganhe, I've gotten out of the vehicle. Do you have anything to say?" Wei Zhao was astonished at heart as to where the lion had gotten such a fine treasure, but he pretended not to care and shifted the topic to Zhang Duopan and Fan Ganhe.

"That... that doesn't prove anything. We dare to get out too!" Seeing that nothing had happened to Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu, Zhang Duopan naturally regained his confidence, and for the moment forgot his pain, intending to get out and take a look again.

"Oh, then come on down. But if you get bitten again, don't blame me for not warning you!" Shen Yushu said. "This lion is only afraid of Arrowbrand—not of you!"

"Damn! You think a lion's so smart it can tell who to be afraid of?" Zhang Duopan did not believe a word of Shen Yushu's. "If you ask me, this lion must have a mental disorder, and you've figured out some pattern to it—that's why it's like this!"

"Good grief!" Shen Yushu's eyes went wide as she stared at Zhang Duopan in astonishment.

"How about that, surprised? I guessed right, didn't I?" Seeing Shen Yushu's expression, Zhang Duopan felt all the more certain he had hit the mark.

"No—I was thinking your idea is too fantastical. You could break into Hollywood with that." Shen Yushu said.

"It's no use denying it. Ganhe, let's get out!" Zhang Duopan was the first to want to get out, but he suddenly remembered that his rear end was still exposed. When he had gotten in, he had been facing the people in the vehicle, so it had not mattered, but the moment he turned around to get out, his rear would be on display!

"Classmate Zhang really knows how to play the rogue!" Bai Weituo curled his lip. "There are girls in this vehicle too!"

"Uh..." Zhang Duopan had nearly forgotten the pain in his rear, but being reminded of it, the pain came rushing back. Yet at a time like this he could not show it—that would be too cowardly—so he could only take off his clothes, wrap them around his waist, and say, "Ha, sorry about that!"

Fan Ganhe was a sports student; injuries from fights were routine for him, so a bite on the arm was bearable. He nodded and got out of the vehicle with Zhang Duopan...

But what they had not expected was that the moment they got out, tragedy struck!

The lion, so docile just before, suddenly lunged at Zhang Duopan!

"My God!" Zhang Duopan had not even finished getting out when he saw the lion pouncing and scrambled backward in fright. As luck would have it, he lost his footing and landed hard on his rear inside the vehicle, letting out a howl of agony—his rear hit the ground and jolted his wound, and the pain was killing him!

Fan Ganhe fared a little better. He had been following behind Zhang Duopan, and though Zhang Duopan's backward fall knocked into him as well, he was not hurt.

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